Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is an 2012 executed action created by the Obama administration. DACA allows certain undocumented immigrants that fit the requirements permission to receive a work permit and be protected from being deported for a period of 2 years. The DACA program doesn’t grant a path to citizenship. An individual with DACA status can apply for a renewal every two years or until the program remains active. To be eligible for DACA the applicant must provide confidential information, a back ground check along with an interview. The applicant had to be brought here to the US before the age of 16, and be between the ages 16-30. Undocumented immigrants would have to apply every two years. They must be currently in school, graduated from high school or received a G.E.D, cannot have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, and not be consider a national security or a threat to the public.

However, with a snap of a finger Trump decided to phase out the program. He gave congress 6 months to come up with a solution and the deadline is near March 5th, 2018. This program is really important because it allowed many young undocumented immigrants to come forward and be able to receive authorization to work, attend college and provide for their families and not have to worry about being deported. Prior to 2012, many undocumented immigrants would work for people that abused them, made them work for long hours with very little pay. They had no choice because they were supporting their families and their employers threaten to have them deported. I think it is important to remember for DACA recipients the only place they know is the United States and to deport them would be wrong. It is important to remove the stigma attached to these families because they are good people and productive members in society. We need to remind congress that these undocumented immigrants came to the United States as children because their parents made a sacrifice to come to the US to have a better life for their families.

Removing the DACA program is a Human Rights violation because undocumented immigrants do have rights if you read the US constitution in 1896 the Supreme Court ruled that: The fourteenth amendment to the constitution is not confine to the protections of citizens. It says: Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law these protections are universal in their application to all persons within the territorial jurisdiction without regard to any differences of race, of color or nationality; and the equal protection of the laws is a pledge of the protection of equal laws. Under the fourteenth amendment children regardless of their immigrant status are entitled to a free education; it is under the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. To my understanding this quote means that every human being is entitled to life and liberty as everyone else; regardless of their parent’s ethnicity. I feel this is a human rights violation because of what the US constitution clearly states. Furthermore, this country is based on diversity and multiple cultures stirred under the red, white, and blue flag, which represent freedom and equality for all.

My proposal is to expand the DACA program and create a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients. The pathway to citizenship will allow people who entered the United States before 16 and have been here for a least five years, and meet the educational and criminal requirement to apply for conditional permanent residency, which they could then, after five years, apply to turn into standard green cards and become citizens. It would ensure that undocumented immigrants humanity will be recognize.

I ask you to sign my petition because currently DACA protects 690,000 undocumented immigrants. Your signature will be seen by Senator Schumer and is physical evidence that a group of people feel strongly about this issue and want undocumented immigrants to gain human rights, and to expand the DACA program to provide them a path to citizenship in The United States.